Croc 2

Better looking and bigger, Argonaut's sequel is a mixed marriage of fun and frustration.

When Croc arrived on PlayStation almost three years ago, the origin of its roots was clear. Mario made the big 3D splash clear to everyone, and Croc was really one of the first, if not the first, completely 3D PlayStation platformers. Yes, Crash was 3D too, it just didn't allow total exploration and the kind of gameplay that the next-generation platformers were giving.

Croc 2, in a typical sequel, improves on almost everything that the first failed at (which wasn't much), and improved on a handful of things, variety of gameplay, graphics, and level design. For instance, the little land of the Gobbos is no longer pint-sized. It's huge. Croc 2 is a massive game with lots of worlds to explore and Gobbos to safe. Unfortunately, while it's improved in some areas, it's actually devolved in some areas, particularly control. And although we hate to ever admit a game was too tough, Croc 2 is more difficult than we expected.

Gameplay First off, Croc is a really cute game that has a definite personality of its own. One might think that the funny gibberish the Gobbos and Croc spew out is a straight copy of Banjo-Kazooie, but in fact, it's the other way around. Developer Argonaut invented that style of wacky talk in the first Star Fox on Super NES. In Croc 2, you may eventually want to avoid talking to characters, but for the first five or so hours, each and every Gobbo is so adorably cute, you have to listen. Case in point is the trampoline Gobbo who lands and provides one more word before he bounces back up again to complete his sentence.

This time around Croc has a few new special moves as well as a phenomenally large inventory of abilities. Croc can walk, run and jump, he can swim and climb walls, and he's able to whack short little baddies with his tail. Just like Mario, he performs a butt-smashing special jump (by pressing X twice), and just like Duke Nukem, he can sidestep (but not quite with the same bravado as the Duke). What this comes down to is that he's capable of the standard amount of platform style moves. Croc has learned a few special things this time around, each adding to the overall improvement of the gameplay. Croc can push objects, such as boxes or ice cubes, or pick up and throw them. Lastly, Croc can triple jump, flip jump, swing on monkey bars, use vehicles (boats, mine carts, pilot hang gliders and hot air balloons), swing on ropes and well, lots more. The point is Croc is now quite versatile. Versatility is good.

With a slightly different approach to the game design, Croc's game is far larger, giving the player many more hours of gameplay and exploration time. Argonaut withdrew the linear set of levels from the first game and added a ton of mixed, selectable levels players can choose from whenever they want. Some of the new courses are totally fun, too, such as the hang gliding section, the hot air balloon and the snow ball tasks. But others, while appreciated, are standard fare, executed no better than the average platformer. The mine cart sections are obvious and tedious, and the boat racing section is just plain lame. Controlling the boat is rudimentary at best, and you could've could've been racing on a giant rat or a moldy piece of cheese or a dingleberry, and it wouldn't have made a difference because in no way did it feel like being in a boat. Maybe that sounds unfair, but just wait until you get in that boat. And that's just an example of why some of the little mini races work while others flop: controlling just about every one of them is rough and frustrating.

Which brings me to the game's biggest flaw, control. In the good platfomers titles I've sunk many, many hours into (Super Mario 64, Ape Escape, Jumping Flash and Banjo-Kazooie), control is the first and most important issue. When Shigeru Miyamoto designed Mario, his team and he sat around for months just perfecting his jumps, leaps, and flips in environments in which he could use them. Croc may move in tight circles but he doesn't have subtle nuances that make him a joy to control. It's more of a battle to get him to do the tasks he should do with the right amount of practice and skill.

In addition to the annoying control, it's difficult for even a seasoned gamer to successfully control Croc through the first set of levels without having to start over less than three or four times. Croc 2 is way more frustrating in its learning curve than I think it should be. I know the developers at Argonaut have been playing it for ages and everything comes naturally to them, but for a first time gamer and young kids (the core of which this game is aimed), progressing through the first simple levels is an exercise in pure frustration.

Part of that is due to the game's control, but another part of that is located in the closeness of the camera angle. In this third-person perspective, the camera slings far too close to Croc to get a good perspective on jumps, incoming areas and, most importantly, the immediately areas around Croc himself. Taking jumps becomes far more frustrating that it should be because the close camera makes it difficult to judge distances. There are hundreds of areas in which Croc needs to jump, and only when a practiced gamer is running around with reckless abandon should he die from a simple jump, not over and over taking careful time to make each and every one and still dying unhappily.

Graphics Croc 2 does excel graphically, especially when compared to its predecessor, but it's not a cutting edge technology demo. And that's OK, Croc doesn't need to look like Trickstyle or Unreal or a PlayStation 2 game. The cartoon-style graphics achieve the perfect look and feel for a tropical island filled with strange and mysterious caverns, lost lands, and neckless little bad guys.

I especially enjoy the character designs. The Gobbos are all scrunched, neckless dwarves that move around with funny motions that match their goofy language. Croc himself, although I assume he's a he, looks like a little teenage girl with a little backpack purse, and short stubby legs in need of a nose job. I mean it, he's cute and likeable. If you're cynical, just pick the controller up for a bit engage him in conversation or have him move around a bit, he's irresistibly cute. Hot and sexy he's not, slender and ready for love, no. Cute, oh yes.

One last thing, the large lands and overall game design of Croc, while not brilliant, are something to admire. The game is big and though arduous, it's filled with lots of baddies, new characters, entertaining looking bosses and a sense of space that the first Croc simply didn't have.

Sound One of the best aspects to Croc is its great sense of sound. The music is refreshingly upbeat and energetic without falling into the bottomless pit of repetitively bad beeping loops. For the most part, Croc 2 is made up of little pop songs and jungle beats. But even in the mine levels, for instance, the clean guitar sounds and low-key keyboard pulses are cleanly produced, sharp sounding and enjoyable. I still haven't sickened of the main course's bongo drum, vibe, and bass jingo. It's warm and fuzzy without being lame.

Again, the voices are all great, too. The garbled sounds of Gobbos and Croc discussing things of the utmost importance in gibberish-speak is all too hilarious. I love it.

The Verdict

Croc 2 is a mixed bag, folks. It's cute and fun, and it's not quite the great game we were hoping it was going to be.

One thing I didn't mention about the camera angles is that players don't have complete control of the camera. Instead, they have a button that zips the camera right behind around Croc every time. It's a decent solution that does indeed work, but all too often I was fiddling around with the L and R buttons just hoping I could switch things around. In a way, Argonaut simplified the camera so that gamers just don't have to even worry about the camera eve, but I still felt the need to put the camera some place it wasn't.

Having said some pretty blunt things about Croc, I still enjoyed many aspects of the game. So, I guess if you were saving up your money just for this, you may want to wait and try your friend's game, or rent it first, before you dish out the cash. All I know is that if I didn't have to finish this game because of professional commitment, I wouldn't have done it.